Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken Recipe

My husband and I love Chinese take out, but we don’t love all the calories that come with it. This Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken tastes good enough to come from a restaurant but you don’t even have to leave the house to get it!

Six Sisters Stuff

Serves: 8

Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken Recipe

Delicious Chinese Takeout - Sweet and Sour Chicken - made right at home!

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Comment on this Recipe

148 Responses to “Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken Recipe”

Today I made the Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken for the first time. I followed the recipe exactly. Did not change any measurements or ingredients.
My family and I loved it. It is easy to make and delicious. Outstanding recipe!*****

I wouldn't EVEN! I did it by lightly frying in a little oil instead of the oven and OMGosh! That is so delicious, slight crispy but really light breading and a great sauce! The chicken just takes a little time to starch and egg but the chicken cooks fast when you keep it about 1in square or close. Only negative to frying is not cooking it all together and staying hot. Great recipe, thanks for sharing it.

This is gorgeous. I have made it a few times but halve the amount of vinegar. I must be using the wrong sort as half a cup is just too strong. It is definitely easy and so much better than a takeaway. I also discovered that if you make a batter from eggs and cornstarch it works just as well, and you only have to dip once :D

I make this as well and the smell is way stronger then the taste. The recipe I have doesn't call for white and apple cider vinegar, it only calls for white. I am going to make this again this week and try the half and half. This is one of my family favorite.

A few questions- What temperature/stove setting do you heat up your oil to before putting the chicken in? How long did it approximately take before the pieces browned?

I put my chicken in the heated oil, and I had to leave it all in the pan for way too long before it browned, so my chicken was a tad too cooked when I put it in the oven! (... or was I not supposed to put all of the chicken in the pan to brown at the same time because it brought the temp down too much?)

I heated the oil in my skillet over medium heat. It took about 6-7 minutes until it was cooked almost the whole way through and then I put it in the pan to finish cooking in the oven. Sorry for any confusion!

I'm a Chinese food fanatic too, especially the sweet & sour dishes. This looks like a great alternative to deep-fried chicken. I'm definitely going to try your recipe out next time I get the urge for Chinese food :-)

I was thinking the same thing. But I'm trying it and after turning the chicken each time, I understand why it takes an hour. It's for the sauce to gel. It smells *amazing.* I'll let you know if it turns out too dry.

When I made this recipe we like more sauce so I more sauce .X’s Three.
And we fed Two adults and three high school boys !
Had a small bowl of leftovers.
Would highly recommend this.
It’s soooooo yummy !!!

Made this last night... And it was Mmmmm Mmmmm Good!!!! Will sooooo be making this again... Meg, I had thought the same thing about baking it for an hour. Thought it would be dry... But it was so tender and kept its juice's in.... VERY VERY good

I made this the other night. I'm so glad that I read the comments first b/c I reduced the vinegar down to 2 tbsp and it was PERFECT! My husband loves me even more now that I've found your recipe! Since I reduced the vinegar so much, it tasted more like a sweet BBQ (which I prefer over sweet and sour!)

I must be doing something wrong. When we made this, all of the batter that should have formed a crust around the chicken fell off. After browning and then flipping the chicken in the oven pan the crust was just pieces floating in the sauce... any suggestions for how to make sure that this doesn't happen?

I made this for dinner tonight and it was a big hit! My only change was to reduce the sugar down to 1/2 cup, and substitute 50/50 apple cider and rice wine vinegar. This hit the sweet and sour balance just right for us. Those vinegars have a little natural sweetness, so maybe that cut the sour a bit.

Hi, This photo of the Sweet & Sour Chicken is all over pinterest and someone reported it as Spam so it links back to Pinterest with the note. It took a while to find the actual link in one. Thought you might want to know.

I made this tonight!! I had to do a bunch of "OH NO I DON'T HAVE THAT" covers!! I used brown sugar and rice wine vinegar....and while I did have eggs...I just did it with cornstarch, no egg wash...I know a I am a rebel. And sprinkled sesame seeds for the last 15 minutes cook time....thankfully even though I messed it up...It turned out GREAT! I found that the vinegar mellowed as it cooked :-)YUM!

Thank you for such an awesome recipe...that even works for the scatterbrained cook!

Just made it tonight and I'm in love! I followed the recipe almost exactly. I used rice wine vinegar (the full amount and thought it was perfect) and garlic powder (no garlic salt) with a little extra toss of salt. The dish turned out perfectly and it's a new family fave. The only complaint was that people wanted MORE sauce for the rice. So next time I'll up the sauce recipe a bit and simmer the extra in a pan. Thank you!

You should just link back to the recipe and not include it on your website so visitors link to the original website. This is the same recipe that she had on her website - you should at least check with her before posting it.

I have made this several times and it is soooo good!! I also will add pineapples, green peppers and carrots in the last 15 mins of cooking and it turns out perfect! This has become one of my families favorite meals.

I made this last night and was amazed with the results!! The chicken was the absolutely same consistency as in Chinese restaurants - made the rice too which was fabulous. Thanks for the great recipes!!

I have made this a few times now, which is saying a lot in my house! With high marks every time! I have some helpful subs: Instead of 3/4 cup sugar, I cut it to 1/2 cup sugar and 1/4 cup OJ. It adds great tang and moisture and helps on the over sweet factor. Don't go skimpy on the garlic. I sub chopped garlic. I've tried a few vinegars and apple cider is my favorite in this dish. And the best, to cut the cook time in half with way better results (no more dry chicken), I throw the sauce mix in the hot skillet when finished browning the chicken, and simmer it on medium for just a minute or two before I pour over chicken. I found I only bake for 30min, stirring twice and had great consistency. Great recipe!

The key to success is browning the chicken in VERY SMALL batches. I used 3 chicken breasts cut into chunks for the recipe and I broke it up into about 5 or 6 small batches. 2 minutes on each side for each batch (2 minutes, flip, 2 minutes, remove ... repeat for next batch). This way, the oil stays hot, the outside of the chicken browns and the inside will stay moist even after being in the oven for an hour.

The sauce was just right, as is.

I threw in sweet red pepper chunks and fresh pineapple chunks when there was about 20 minutes of cooking time left. I served this with basmati rice for a complete meal.

My 7 year old cleaned her plate. Will definitely be making this again! YUMMY!

Hey~! So - I made this last night! I used all organic/ natural ingredients.

It was a cornstarch tornado for a bit in the kitchen - as I was scrambling to brown all the chicken at once - def should have read the comments before!! It was hysterical.

But I cut the sugar down a touch - used the white vinegar and the apple cider vinegar I used was unfiltered/ raw. I also added a chopped small onion, one small red and one small green pepper and a small can of diced pineapple (drained) to the glass dish before baking. I mixed everything gently once before putting the dish in the oven.

I was skeptical to see how it would turn out after my cornstarch fiasco - but it was freaking AMAZING!! having lefovers for lunch and still so good. My husband even called from work to let me know how much he liked it leftover also! Great great dish.

This sauce is great but I think there is 1 secret ingredient missing. Ginger!! I always add ginger to my sweet and sour sauce, it adds that asian zing and it has so many health benefits. Just grate a little fresh ginger in the sauce to your own taste, we like a lot! Put the ginger in the freezer and you'll never be without!

I will be making this tonight... Also bought green peppers, onions and pineapple to put in it... Does anyone know if I can just bake the veggies and pineapple WITH the chicken the whole hour??? Our chinese resturant we love puts these veggies with their sw/sr chicken so I want to try it like that! Just not sure if and how long I should cook them??

Was searching for something new to make tonight with chicken, my wife said something about sweet and sour chicken or Robert Irvine recipes so I searched both. I almost made one of his recipes but then I ran into this and had to try it.

Amazing!!! Made as is quantity wise but subbed rice vinegar for white (as per other comments), chopped garlic for garlic salt and added some fresh grated ginger. Added some chopped onions with about 20 minutes to go, cooked perfectly, next time will add pineapple chunks and peppers too (didn't have any). Also doubled the recipe since I was making almost double the chicken breasts. Thought I would have some leftovers (5 people eating) but everyone had seconds, I almost had thirds!

We've been making this for a few months now and it is always a HUGE hit. Everyone's favorite. Like other users I made a few small changes. The tip another commenter gave about mixing the eggs and cornstarch into a batter and only having to dip once is AWESOME. I use 2 eggs and 1 egg white, about 1 cup of cornstarch and if it's a little thick- I thin it out with a tablespoon or two of milk- I use a bit more oil for browning- and "pre-fry" the outside a bit- not enough to cook the chicken at all but it sets the batter well. For the sauce I reduced the sugar to 2/3 cup and the vinegar to 1/4 cup and use apple cider vinegar. I also add ground ginger and use garlic powder rather than salt. I LOVE you ladies for this recipe! We never get takeout any more because this is so tasty and easy

OMG this is absolutely the BEST sweet 'n sour chicken I've had in years!! I had to alter a few things because I didn't have them...Olive Oil for Canola Oil and Flour for Corn Starch. I chopped 2 green peppers, 2 onions, into bite size pieces, 1 carrot cut on a slant and a can of chunky pineapples. Warmed them for a few minutes and mixed w/the chicken after it was done baking. THANKS for sharing this recipe!!!! We'll be eating this again :)

I made this Baked Sweet & Sour Chicken for dinner tonight. It was a big hit, along with your Fried Rice recipe. Thanks to my daughter-in-law, Sjarina, who made it over the weekend & put it on her Pinterest board. I will definitely be trying more of your recipes. Next week I am making the Crockpot Orange Chicken.

I made this for dinner tonight! It was awesome except that I need to learn how to follow directions. :) I browned the chicken incorrectly, so the breading didn't stick and it ended up baking a little dry. But other than my mistake, it was delicious! :)

We are watching calories and this isn't exactly low cal! But tasted amazing!! Putting the calories in my Sparkpeople food journal was an eye opener! I was wondering if anyone had tried this without the breading and browning step. What would happen if I put the raw chicken in the sauce and baked it.

I just discovered your site, and on a whim made this for dinner tonight. Oh. My. Gosh! It was fantastic. It was my cheat of the week in terms of healthy eating, but was definitely worth it. My husband said I must make it more often and that is quite the compliment. I think it is better than any sweet & sour chicken I've had at a restaurant and I've lived on three different continents now. I cannot wait to try more of your recipes!

I made this for my husbands poker night last month for a big group of guys and it was such a hit. I managed to grab a couple pieces and it was so delicious! Currently making this again for dinner tonight so I will get more than a few morsels. Thank you!!

I made this for my husbands poker night last month for a big group of guys and it was such a hit. I managed to grab a couple pieces and it was so delicious! Currently making this again for dinner tonight so I will get more than a few morsels. Thank you!!

I bought your cookbook at Build Your Blog Conference 2013 and you have so many great recipes. I made this sweet & sour over the weekend, adding green & red peppers and pineapple chunks. My hubby loved it and so did I. This is mild and not syrupy like some take-outs.

I've made chicken this way several times and it's great. I didn't use white sugar but brown sugar, and I only used 3/4 of a cup. I want to try the combination of the two different vinegars. Apple cider vinegar alone was too strong. I served the chicken over brown rice with steamed broccoli, and made a second batch of the sweet and sour sauce to pour over it. Delicious!

Just click on the MAGIC button under the picture and then on Nutrition. This is our new sister site - MyRecipeMagic.com. It will give you serving sizes and all of the nutritional information you will need for the recipe. Thanks so much for stopping by. Cyd (mom of the Six Sisters)

Ok I am glad I am not the only one. I am no all-star chef, but I am pretty kitchen savvy. I followed these instruction exactly, despite my initial reluctance. I ended up with a pile of some sort of scrambled egg hash and a pile of barely breaded chicken. So, no I would do it the way your instincts tell you. And I would use flower not corn starch in the future.

Found this recipe on Pinterest - I just made it for dinner with a fried rice and it was DELICIOUS. Only took about 30 mins to bake and I also used a little less vinegar. It was SO tender and good. Would be very easy to prep beforehand and then refrigerate until you're ready to bake. Highly recommended; now I can't wait to try more recipes here!

I made this last night for dinner, it was SO good! Extremely easy to make! Instead of the 1/4 cup for each vinegar i used 1/8 cup of apple cider vinegar and 1/8 white vinegar, that was perfect.
Definitely a better recipe than our local chinese food takeout, and healthier!
thank you

I added some small bits of cubed red bell pepper and pineapple bits to my sauce before pouring on. Served it with a variation of pineapple rice. We all enjoyed it and will make it again. But in all fairness, it should be called 'mostly baked sweet and sour chicken!'

I discovered this recipe a few months ago and have made it over and over. It is the BEST!!! I just wish I could I could stop my kitchen from the lingering smell days after even using a dish of vineager and washing all surfaces. But I will admit, it's a small price to pay for a dish like this!
P.S. I found a fantastic fried rice recipe that can't be matched on Pinterest also! Yummm!!

Hi. First, I read that someone said it would be easier to make a cornstarch/egg batter. How would you do that? Then, second, when I baked mine, the liquid was very watery and I made it just like your directions said. Do you have any suggestions?
Thanks.

This dish was awesome! I almost never leave reviews but this one deserves it. I made some adjustments to suite our taste and it came out beautifully. I can't wait to make again! Even my 3 year old and hubby couldn't get enough! I omitted the egg wash and just lightly coated the chicken w cornstarch and it browned up perfectly...giving it a great crust but not too thick. I added carrots, mushrooms, pineapple, red and orange bell peppers, shelled edamame, onions, and garlic. For the sauce, I used 2 Tbsp rice vinegar and 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar and only a half cup of sugar. I think I could reduce the sugar even more next time, especially when adding in the pineapple. I served over brown rice and it was better than any Chinese restaurant ever!!! Thank you so much! I can't wait to make it again!

This was OUTSTANDING!!! So delicious. I served it with some whole grain rice. And my husband thinks I'm the best cook ever now. :) I was worried about the cornstarch before egg dipping thing and also thought it seemed watery while initially in the oven but I just followed the directions and after an hour in the oven and letting it sit for a few minutes before serving, the sauce really thickened up nicely - as delicious as any take out Chinese we've had - and better for you. Am going to try and cut back on the sugar a little next time just to make even healthier. Thanks for the great recipe!

Hi Holly, We have never made the baked sweet and sour chicken as a freezer meal. We would have to experiment with this. I'm not sure how the coating on the chicken would turn out...if it would be soggy or not. Sorry not much help here.

Hello! This look really interesting and I would just like to ask something.
In step 4, after making the sauce, can I just mix it with the chicken in the skillet and continue cooking, instead of baking?
It?s too bad my oven got busted.
Thanks.

I made this recipe last week and it was AMAZING! It tasted exactly (or even better!) than take-out from a good Asian restaurant! I followed the recipe exactly and it worked out perfectly! It does seem a little backwards to coat the raw chicken in the cornstarch first and then into the egg, but it definitely works and creates the perfect coating. I was worried about cooking the chicken in the oven for 1 hour but there is certainly a reason to - it really thickens and gels the sauce nicely! Will be making this again and again, it is delicious! Thanks so much!

This is a great recipe!! (I have made the sauce before, and loved it, but this time I used Kikkoman Sweet and Sour because I was in a hurry.) I didn't make it for the whole hour, but other than that, I followed recipe. Thanks for sharing!!

yum But I did change it up to make it even easier... and to avoid eggs, I just made the sauce and poured it over a package of Chicken nuggets. (Applegate Farms Gluten-Free) Super easy and kids loved it! I served it with white ride. Next time I will probably add green peppers and carrots.

Have made this many times and my family loves it! One tip - coat all the chicken pieces and set aside on waxed paper before you start any frying. This really reduces the back and forth to the sink because your hands are so messy from dipping and then you need to fry....and then you need to dip....and then you need to fry.... Dipping all at once is much faster and easier.

This recipe is absolutely fabulous. Home Run. It tastes very much like sweet and sour chicken, but fresher and better. I make an extra 1/2 recipe of the sauce so there will be enough to spoon some over the rice. My 18-year-old will often come home and proclaim he is "wickedly craving that sweet and sour chicken", so I always have the ingredients on hand.

I made this tonight but used pork chops...DELICIOUS. When I finished browning the pieces I added cold rice pilaf I'd made......moved the rice over and cooked an egg. Perfect meal!! Thank you soooo much for the recipe.

My family loves this! This weekend I’m going to teach it to my son’s girlfriend. She eats gluten free and can use cornstarch! I can see her making this to take for lunch at school. She teaches 1st grade!